A passionate, heartfelt haka at Waitangi opened a new exhibition showcasing waka and all those who have sailed aboard the Māori voyaging canoes.
He Kaupapa Waka was created to honour the first navigators to Aotearoa, and the many faces who have kept waka alive.
Waitangi is known for its annual waka voyage, where hundreds of kaihoe (paddlers) jump aboard the giant wooden vessels and paddle in front of thousands of visitors.
Photographs of the spectacle line the walls of He Kaupapa Waka, an exhibition its creator Te Rawhitiroa Bosch said belonged to everyone.
"It really is our exhibition, not my exhibition, our exhibition," he said.
"Seeing the people who are in the photos seeing themselves and seeing their brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, that's really uplifting the kaupapa of waka. That was the dream."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the opening on Thursday. Photo: RNZ / Jogai Bhatt
Sounds were also recorded from waka and turned into a soundscape for the exhibition by musician and singer, Tiki Tane.
"What we want to achieve is that when you come into that space you see pictures but you also hear sound as well and it can kind of connect you to that story line," he said.
Curator Te Rawhitiroa Bosch, left, speaks with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: RNZ / Jogai Bhatt
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was a special guest to the opening at Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi, but she is no stranger to waka, having made a last-minute decision at last year's Waitangi to join the voyage.
She said many disapproved of the idea at the time.
"When I called my colleagues and said I'd like to go on and paddle in waka this afternoon a couple of them counselled me against the idea," she said, laughing.
Ardern acknowledged the late master waka carver Hekenukumai Busby, who built two of the mini replica waka carvings featured in the exhibition, his last two creations before he died.
The opening of He Kaupapa Waka, created to honour the first navigators to Aotearoa. Photo: RNZ / Jogai Bhatt
Ardern said he and others understood waka were so much more than a vessel.
"I have seen waka be used by some of our masters to impart deep knowledge about our history and our true, first boats to arrive here in Aotearoa."
That knowledge has been imparted to many young people in the North, including Anna Reuben.
She is one of the few female kaihoe and said that made her proud.
"It makes you feel powerful," she said.
"You have all your wahine around you and you're just trying to fit in, but at the same time you get a lot of respect because you're doing what everybody else is doing."
Images from the exhibition line the walls of the gallery as a young attendee at the opening event gets a moment's rest. Photo: RNZ / Jogai Bhatt
Joe Reuben has been paddling for more than 30 years.
He said it was up to him and the next generation to keep the tradition alive.
"An old kaumātua once said once, you turn your back on the waka, the waka truly dies, so the reason I come back here is to keep our kawa, our tikanga and our waka alive."
Once you turn your back on the waka, it dies - a message many here haven't forgotten.